What I really want to write

You, my dear readers, are in luck. Today is the day that I reveal one of my guilty little secrets. You already know that I secretly harbor the wish to write a book. Nothing new there, but do you know what type of book I want to write? Once upon a time I wanted to pen The Great American Novel, but these days my aspirations are a bit more down-to-earth.



Yes, I want to write pulp series fiction. I want to write the kind of books that tween and teen girls devoured like popcorn. Penny Parrish, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, Beany Malone -- the best ones were written in the 1940s and 1950s, when a girl's biggest problem was whether she would have a date for the prom. Even the girl detectives were never in any real danger. These books were total escapism and I know that modern teenagers don't read them, but I would love to write a series of them. I admire authors like Rosamond du Jardin and Janet Lambert who wrote the kind of books they wanted their own daughters to read. I fantasize about doing the same thing.